Canning retort



Feb. 15, 1966 w. LOVELESS 3,235,103

CANNING RETORT Filed Jan. 20, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. MARION W. LOVELES 3 ATTORNEYS Feb. 15, 1966 M. w. LOVELESS 3,235,103

CANNING RETORT Filed Jan. 20, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.2

INVENTOR. MARION W. LOVELESS ATTORNEYS Feb. 15, 1966 Filed Jan. 20, 1964 M. W. LOVELESS FIG.4

CANNING RETORT 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 MARION W. LOVELESS ATTORNEYS FIG.3

Feb. 15, 1966 M. w. LOVELESS 3,235,103

CANNING RETORT Filed Jan. 20, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG.5

INVENTOR MARION W. LOVELESS AT TORN EYS 1966 M. w. LOVELESS 3,

CANNING RETORT 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 20, 1964 aim":

FIG. 9

INVENT MARION W, LOVE S ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3335,1433 CANNENG- RETQRT Marion W. Loveless, 419 S. Allegheny, Tulsa, ()lda. Filed Jan. 20, 1964, Ser. No. 338,706 4 Claims. (Cl. 21417) This invention relates to a canning retort. More particularly, the invention relates to a canning retort including improved means for automatically discharging cans after they have been processed.

One of the most commonly used methods of preserving and distributing food is that of sealing food in Closed metalcontainers. In order to eliminate the effect of bacteria Within the containers, the canned food must be subjected to a temperature to sterilize the contents of the can. Thisprocedure is commonly referred to as canning and is accomplished by pressur'izing the exterior of the can as it is heated so that pressure increases within the interior of the can, asthe temperature isbrought to a sterilization point, will not result in the rupture of the can. In the canning industry the pressure cookers or (farmers are usually -referred to as canning retorts and typically consist of large vessels having an open top. Large quantities of the cans are lowered into the vessels and, either before or after the cans are placed in the vessel, the vessel is filled with water and the temperature of the water brought to the prescribed degree to achieve sterilization of the contents of the cans. Pressure is maintained inside the retort to prevent the cans from rupturing. When the Canning procedure is'terminated, the retort is opened at the top and the cans are removed. Regardless of the amount of machinery available this procedure is time consuming and involves a substantial amount of manual labor.

Others have attempted to circumvent the problem of the manual effort involved in extracting the canned foods from the canning retort after the canning procedur. One such attempt is the provision or" a retort which can be tiltedafter the canning procedure to dumpthe cans out of the upper open end of the retort. This method has not worked satisfactorily. 7

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved canning retort which may be emptied of cans automatically.

Another object of this invention is to provide an im proved canning retort including means whereby upon the completion of the canning cycle the cans will be automatica'lly discharged onto a moving belt and including means whereby the cans are substantially and evenly distributed upon the moving belt.

Another object of this invention is to provide a canning retort having an open upper and lower end and including improved means of pressure sealing the open ends during the canning process.

Another object of this invention is to provide a bottom discharge type of canning retort including improved means of evenly discharging the cans from the bottom of the retort in a manner toavoid dentingor otherwise damaging the cans.

Another object of this invention isto provide a bottom discharge canning retort including means of automatically controlling the opening at the bottom so that cans may be discharged therefrom at an even and consistent rate.

Another object of this invention is to provide a bottom discharge canning retort including means of properly limiting the height of the cans as discharged ontola eonveyor in a manner such that the can passing onto the conveyor from the retort will be at a single level thickness.

Another object of this invention is to provide a canning retort of the bottom discharge type including means whereby the cans are discharged onto a moving conveyor passing beneath the retort in a manner wherein when cans are not being discharged the discharge mechanism is automatically withdrawn to a height above the conveyor.

These and other objects will be fulfilled and a better understanding of the invention will be had by referring to the following description and claims, taken in conjunction with the attached drawings inwhich:

FIGURE 1 is a side plan viewof the lower portionof the canning retort'of this invention.

FIGURE 2 is a side plan view of the upper portionof the canning retort of this invention.

FIGURE 3 'is across sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a'view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG- URE 2.

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing how the lower lid of the retort is sealed to retain pressure in the retort.

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing means whereby the upper lid is supported in closed position to retain pressure Within 'the retort.

'FIGUR'ETisa fragmentary schematic view showing an alternate arrangement wherein a pulley driven cable is utilized for positioning the lower lid.

FIGURE '8 is .a top view of the lower frame portion showing an alternate arrangement wherein additionaleccentric roller supports are provided at the end of the lower lid to provide more effective closure of the bottom discharge opening of the vessel. The conveyor system. basket and vessel supports are "not shown.

FIGURE 9 is'a'side view of the lower frame portion of FIGURE 8.

This invention may be referred to as a canning retort. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, the invention may bedescribed as a canning reto'rt comprising an upstanding pressurizable vessel having a can receiving opening in the top thereof and a can discharge opening in the bottom thereof, said vessel having water inlet and outlet openings therein, a slidably supported lower lid, means of controllably posi'tioningsaid lower lid relative to said lower can discharge opening to variably open said can discharge opening, means of sealably contracting said lower lid 'with said vessel to pressure seal said can discharge opening, an upper lid, and rneansofopening and 'soalably closing said can receiving opening of said vessel with said upper lid.

Referring now to the drawings and first to FIGURE 1 the canning retort of this invention consists basically of an upright .pressurizable vessel 10. The vesselflll includes an upper can receiving opening '12 and a lower can discharge opening '14. The vessel 10 is provided with piping 16 by which the vessel is filled, emptied, pressured, heated and so forth during the canning procedures. Since the piping 16 functions more or less in the normal manner of known types of canning rctorts and is not pertinent to the novelty of this invention, the functioning of the various piping 16 will not be specifically'described. Temperature and pressure indicators 18 are mounted on the vessel and since these devices function in thenormal manner and are not germane to the invention they will not be described in further detail.

Upper-opening 12 is closed by an upper lid 20. The lid 20 is supported by opposed pairs of rollers which ride on an Lashaped lid support rail 24. The lower horizontal portion of rail 24 is providedwi'th recesses 26 at appropriate placesso that when upper lid 20 moves into closed position rollers 22 enter the recesses 26, lowering the lid 20 to close the upper opening 12.

20, has a pistion'rod 30 which extends to engage a bracket 32 aflixed to and extending from upper lid 20. By actuation of hydraulic cylinder 28 the upper lid 20 is moved horizontally to sealably close or expose the upper opening 12. The manner in which upper opening 12 is sealed when in the closed position is best shown by referring to FIGURE 6. The lid 20 is supported slightly above the upper opening 12 of vessel 10. As the lid 20 moves into the closed position rollers 22 drop into recesses 26 formed in the horizontal leg of support rails 24. This drops the lid 20 to close the vessel. At the same time, in order to assure a pressurizable engagement of the upper lid 20 with the vessel, each of the rollers 22 engages an upper lid lock cam block 34, as the rollers 22 are forced into firm engagement to pressureably close the upper can receiving opening 12.

To insure a sealed fit of the upper lid 20 with the vessel in closed position, an O-ring gasket 36 is provided.

When cans are to be deposited into the retort vessel 10 hydraulic cylinder 28 is actuated to withdraw upper lid 20. During the initial movement of withdrawal of lid rollers 22 move out of recesses 26 raising the lid above the upper opening 12 and O-ring gasket 36 so that no slidable contact of the lid and vessel or gasket is had except in the initial and final portions of the movement of the lid out of or into closed position.

Referring now particularly to FIGURES l and 3 the lower portion of the retort of this invention are best shown and such figures include the essential elements of the most important novel features of the invention.

The vessel 10 is supported by legs 38, the forward legs being broken away to show more detail of the mechanism of the can discharge system of the invention. The lower opening 14 is closed by a lower lid 40. A bracket 42 extending from lid 40 is afiixed to the end of the plunger 44 of a hydraulic cylinder 46. Thus, by means of hydraulic cylinder 46 the lower lid 40 is opened and closed.

The lower lid 40 is supported by pairs of oppositely disposed rollers 48. The rollers 48 are rotatably supported by eccentric roller supports 50. Each of the roller supports 50 are rotably controlled by a lever member 52 and each of the lever members 52 is in turn aflixed to a plunger 54 of a lower lid locking hydraulic cylinder 56. Only one of the hydraulic cylinders 56 is shown, it being understood that there is one of such cylinders on each side of the retort. The pressured closing of the lower lid 40 is controlled by hydraulic cylinder 56. The method of effecting such pressured closure is best set forth in the enlarged view of FIGURE 5. During opening and closing, when lid 40 is being moved transversely by means of hydraulic cylinder 46, the lid 40 rides on rollers 48. The upper surface 58 of the lower lid 40 is disposed at a slight distance away from the lower can discharge opening 14 so that as the lid 40 is moved transversely no frictional engagement is had with the vessel 10. To provide improved sealing of the lower lid 40 with the lower can discharge opening 14, an O-ring gasket 60 is provided.

Referring to FIGURES 1 and 3, an extremely important element of this invention is the provision of means whereby cans can be automatically discharged from the vessel 10 after they have been properly processed by subjecting to heat and pressure within the vessel. An important element in the means of discharging the cans includes the provision of a discharge basket 62. The basket 62 is located immediately under the lower opening 14 and is interposed to retard the discharge of cans from the vessel. Basket 62 is of a shape to channel the cans towards and off the forward end and has upwardly angularly extending sides 64, as shown best in FIG- URE 3. Basket 62 is hingedly supported by brackets 66 and 66A which are pivoted at pivot points 68 to the vessel 10. The basket 62 is supported at pivot points 70 to the brackets 66 and 66A. The forward bracket 66A is provided with a longitudinal slot 72 so that basket 62 may move upwardly or downwardly. A spring 74 normally constrains the basket 62 in the upward position but when the weight of cans escaping from the vessel 10 impinge upon basket 62 the tension of spring 74 is overcome and the pivot point 7% slides downwardly withing slot 72 so that the forward end of the basket terminates slightly above a conveyor belt 76.

The basket 62 is supported so that it is oscillated by an eccentric 76 and connecting arm 78. An electric motor 30 rotates the eccentric 76 to vibrate, in an oscillatory manner, the basket 62.

Another important element of this invention is the provision of a substantially vertical gate member 82. The gate member is positioned forwardly of the forward end of basket 62 and above the conveyor belt 76. By means of a rack and gear arrangement 84 the height of the gate member 82 above conveyor 76 may be varied. The gate member 82 and the rack and gear system 84 is supported to a carriage 86 which is transversely movable along lower lid support rail 88 by means of a secondrack and gear system 20. By the rack and gear system 90 the proximity of the gate 82 to the end of basket 62 may be varied.

To control the rate of discharge of cans from the retort a photosensitive element 92 and light source 94 are mounted to opposite sides of the lower end of the retort in such a manner that cans discharging from the ret o-rt interrupt the light beam.

The electrical and mechanical control systems of filling and emptying the retort of water, of automatically opening and closing upper lid 20, of automatically closing and adjustably opening the lower lid 46 by means of photosensitive element 92 and light source 94, of turning on and off the basket vibrator motor 80, and so forth, are not shown in detail since such systems are obvious to any skilled control system engineer and since such systems are only ancillary to the basic concepts of this invention.

An alternate embodiment of the invention is shown in the diagrammatic view of FIGURE 7. In this arrangement the lower lid positioning hydraulic cylinder 56, as shown in FIGURE 1, is not utilized. Instead, lower lid 40 is positioned by means of cable 96 which extends around a rearwardly positioned idler pulley 98 and a forwardly positioned power pulley 100. A reversible electric motor 102, by means of drive pulley 104 and chain 106, provides the force to position lower lid 40. The method of controlling the opening and closing of lower lid 40 in the embodiment of FIGURE 7 is the same as previously described and the method of sealably closing lower lid 40 against the lower vessel opening is the same as previously described with reference to the embodiment of FIGURE 1.

FIGURES 8 and 9 disclose a supplemental embodiment whereby additional support of the lower lid in closed and sealed position is provided. These views show only the lower lid support rail 88 and the lower lid locking apparatus. As has been previously described, when lower lid 40 is in the closed position, and it is desired to move the lid vertically into sealed contact with the lower opening of the vessel, hydraulic cylinders 56 are actuated, extending plungers 54. By lever members 52 extending from eccentric roller supports 50, rollers 48 are displaced vertically to force lid 40 into sealed position. In'

rearward end of support rail 88 are rotated by action ofhydraulic cylinder 56 to provide sealing support for the rearward end 46B of lower lid 40. Although not shown it is apparent that eccentric rollers can be provided to support the forward end 40B of lower lid 40 in a similar manner if desired.

Operation The retort of this invention is adapted for batch processing. When a batch of sealed cans are to be canned or processed, the first step is to close the lower lid 40. This is accomplished by automatic control of hydraulic cylinder 46 which extends plunger 44 to move the lower lid 40. into closed position. When the lid 40 is in fully closed position hydraulic cylinder 56 is next automatically actuated extending plungers 54 and rotating the eccentric roller supports 50 to move the lower lid 40 upwardly and firmly against the vessel to completely pressureably seal the lower opening 14. l i

The next step in the procedure is partially filling the vessel 10 with water. Ordinarily the vessel 10 is filled to a depth such that after the cans to be canned are introduced, the displacement of the water will substantially completely fill the vessel. Upper lid is opened by automatically withdrawing piston rod by hydraulic cylinder 28. The cans to be pressure cooked are then placed into the vessel 10. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways, the preferred way is to dump the cans from large containers by means of a hoist. By the step of first partially filling the retort the cans are cushioned by the water as they are dumped into the retort. This cushioning effect substantially retards denting of the cans. After the retort has been filled with the cans to be processed, the upper lid 20 is closed. As the lid is forced into closed position by hydraulic cylinder 28 the upper rollers 22 engage the upper lid lock cam blocks 34 to force the upper lid 20 into sealed engagement with the vessel to pressureably seal the opening 12. The vessel then is completely pressureably sealed at both ends. The temperature and pressure within the vessel is then raised to the prescribed range. The heat and pressure of the liquid within the vessel is maintained for a given period of time, long enough to insure that the contents of the sealed cans are sterilized. At the end of the cooking process hydraulic cylinder 56 is automatically actuated retracting plungers 54, rotating the eccentrics 52 so that lower lid is lowered away from opening 14. Hydraulic cylinder 56 is then actuated to retract plunger 44 and therefore open lid 40. Lid 40 however is not immediately fully opened but is opened only a sufiicient amount to permit the cans contained within the retort to begin to discharge out of opening 14 and onto basket 62. Basket 62, during the discharge procedure, vibrates by the eccentric 76 and a motor 80. Cans engaging the basket 62 are moved by this vibratory motion of the basket 62 to be discharged onto conveyor belt 76L The weight of the cans overcomes the resiliency of spring 74 and the lower end of basket 62 is moved downwardly to the close proximity of the upper surface of conveyor belt 76 so that the cans discharge onto the conveyor belt with a rather short fall so that no damage is done to the cans.

Lower lid 40 is maintained automatically in the proper opened position to smoothly and continually discharge the cans contained within the vessel. By the provision of a photosensitive element 92 and light 94 the presence of cans discharging onto basket 62 are detected. When no cans are on the basket to intersect the light beam passing from the light 94 to photosensitive element 92 indication is given that the cans have bridged above the opening and by automatic control means, the lower lid 40 is opened an additional amount. This additional opening eliminates bridging above the lid 40 and permits the additional cans to fall onto basket 62. When cans then fall on the basket 62 the light beam to photosensitive element 92 will again be interrupted tending by the automatic control systems, to stop motion of the lid. In this manner a continuous adjustment of the lid 40 takes place during discharge so that the lid is opened only enough to permit cans to gradually fall or discharge from the vessel onto basket 62.

The vibrating or oscillatory motion of basket 62, due to the downward sloping of the basket, gradually, continuously and smoothly. deposits the cans onto the conveyor belt 76. The oscillatorymotion prevents the cans from bridging or stacking and urges the cans forwardly onto the conveyor to empty the vessel To insure that the cans will be discharged onto conveyor belt 76 at a constant rate, that is, so that they will not be stacked in varying heights on top of each other, the gate member 82 is utilized. The gate 82 is adjusted by rack and gear system 84 to the maximum permissible height of the cans on. the belt. This adjustment is made to compensate for varying size cans. In addition, the position of the gate 32 relative to the end of the basket 62 is adjustable by means of the rack and gear system to achieve the desired distribution of cans on the conveyor belt.

The essence of the can discharge system of this invention is accomplished by the cooperative and interrelated effect of three basic elements, that is, the automatically variable opening lower lid 40, the oscillatory basket 62 and then gate member 82. These basic elements and their allied and accessory control equipment make possible the discharge of cans through a lower opening in a canning retort in a manner not previously achievable.

In a canning factory a multiplicity of canning retorts will normally be utilized. According to the principles of this invention the canning retorts are placed in a long series or line and for economy of arrangement, the conveyor belt 76 is passed under each of a series of the retorts. In this manner, while one retort is being discharged, other retorts can be filled or in various stages of the canning process. To automatically permit cans from an adjacent retort to pass on the conveyor belt 76 under the other retort in the line, provision is made including the use of spring 74 to hold the basket 62 up out of the way when not in use. In this way basket 62 is lowered into close proximity of the conveyor belt 76 only when cans are being discharged from it.

Although this invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity it is manifest that many changes may be made in the details of construction and the arrangement of components without departing from the spirit and the scope of this disclosure.

What is claimed is:

1. A canning retort comprising, in combination:

an upstanding pressurizable vessel having a can receiving opening at the top and a can discharge opening at the bottom;

an upper and lower lid sealably closing said top and bottom opening respectively; and

a discharge basket swingingly supported beneath said can discharge opening, the forward portion of said discharge basket resiliently biased to an upper, substantially horizontal position and wherein the weight of cans being discharged from said vessel moves said forward end downwardly against said resilient biasing to the attitude wherein said discharge basket is tilted downwardly during discharge of cans.

2. A canning retort according to claim 1 wherein said lower lid is a substantially flat horizontal lid member supported above said discharge basket, and including means of sealably contacting said lower lid with said vessel to pressurizably seal said bottom opening, said means including a multiplicity of spaced, rotatable eccentric lower cam members engaging the lower surface of said horizontal lid member, said cam members upon rotation thereof moving said lower horizontal lid member upwardly to sealably engage said retort.

3. A canning retort comprising, in combination:

an upstanding pressurizable vessel having a can receiving opening at the top and a can discharge opening at the bottom;

an upper and lower lid sealably closing said top and bottom opening respectively;

7 8 a discharge basket swingingly supported beneath said R f r n s Cit d by th EXamill r discharge opening; UNITED STATES PATENTS a horizontal conveyor belt means positioned below 1,328,752 1/1920 Moody 251 204 X said discharge basket, said basket discharging cans 1,506,386 8/1924 Schauman X therefrom onto said conveyor belt as said retort 5 2 49 330 3 1953 1 is emptied; and 2,863,414 12/1958 Hoitt et al. 114202 X a substantially vertically positioned gate member sup- 3,097,738 7/1963 Erickson 198-59 X ported transversely to and above said conveyor belt FOREIGN PATENTS and in spaced relation to said basket.

4. A canning retort according to claim 3 wherein said 3 11/1922 Garmany gate member is vertically adjustable. HUGO O. SCHULZ, Primary Examiner. 

1. A CANNING RETORT COMPRISING, INCOMBINATION: AN UPSTANDING PRESSURIZABLE VESSEL HAVING A CAN RECEIVING OPENING AT THE TOP AND A CAN DISCHARGE OPENING AT THE BOTTOM; AN UPPER AND LOWER LID SEALABLY CLOSING SAID TOP AND BOTTOM OPENING RESPECTIVELY; AND A DISCHARGE BASKET SWINGINGLY SUPPORTED BENEATH SAID CAN DISCHARGE OPENING, THE FORWARD PORTION OF SAID DISCHARGE BASKET RESILIENTLY BIASED TO AN UPPER, SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL POSITION AND WHEREIN THE WEIGHT OF CANS BEING DISCHARGED FROM SAID VESSEL MOVES SAID FORWARD END DOWNWARDLY AGAINST SAID RESILIENT BIASING TO THE ATTITUDE WHEREIN SAID DISCHARGE BASKET IS TILTED DOWNWARDLY DURING DISCHARGE OF CANS. 